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New Isekai Anime For Fall 2018 – That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Ep. 1 Review

Today I just watched episode 1 of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (a.k.a. Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken). This new isekai anime series premiered on television in Japan as well as being simulcast on Crunchyroll as of October 2 at 12 AM. 8-Bit animation studio brought together director Yasuhito Kikuchi, writer Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, and music production band Elements Garden, to animate this series.

The new isekai anime That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime include genres such as action, adventure, comedy, drama, and fantasy. I’m sure there’s something to your liking based on these genres listed.

From what I research, it seems That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime anime is based on a light novel series written by Fuse and illustrated by Mitz Vah, and it was released on a website called Shosetsuka ni Naro in 2013. The first volume of the light novel has been published by Micro Magazine in 2014 and Yen Press in 2017. As of July 2018, 12 volumes have been released, as well as having a manga adaptation in 2015 and a second manga adaptation in 2016.

I just wanted to give my first impressions and a brief review of That Time I Got Reincarnated as aSlime episode 1. What I’ve seen so far in the first episode, I can’t tell you if this new isekai anime series is good or bad until I see a few more episodes. But I can tell you that it’s a very different and interesting concept that shows some promise.

The Premise

The anime episode is a simple premise about a single 37-year-old man named Satoru who works for a contracting firm. He meets up with his friend Tamura who has brought a girlfriend of his to introduce to Satoru.

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As the 3 are on their way to get dinner, a mugger appears running through a crowd with a knife in his hand. Unfortunately for Satoru, he is the one that gets stabbed by the mugger. He bleeds out to death, and then gets reincarnated as a slime in another world.

Some time passes, and Satoru gets used to his life as a slime as well as learning about his new abilities. He also makes his acquaintance with the unlikeliest of creatures known as Verudora (or Veldora). The 2 make a deal to help each other out and they easily become friends.

Character Setup

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The character setup in episode 1 is pretty straightforward. Satoru is the main character of the story, and he starts out as a simple man who has never had a girlfriend in the 37 years of his life, so he’s pretty much been a loner for most of his life. Although, he does have a friend named Tamura, that looks up to Satoru as his senpai. Another character named Miho is Tamura’s girlfriend who is introduced to Satoru for the first time in this episode.

There is also an anonymous mugger, who dashes out into a crowd wielding a knife like an idiot, but nothing else is known about him. Since Satoru got reincarnated in a new world as a slime, I’ve noticed his personality is somewhat shifting and he may take up another alias from the sudden change in his life. And if you see the character Verudora, I promise you will end up loving this character in the first episode.

Mood & Narrative

This episode immediately starts with war and disaster, but this only occurs very briefly at the beginning of the episode. Then it makes a complete 180 as it transitions to the next scene with the main character, and everything seems peaceful in present day Tokyo.

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The peace then ends up getting disrupted by violence, leading to the death of the main character. Also, as the main character was dying, they do mix in a little comedy and the implications are hilarious if you watch the episode. There is more comedy sprinkled throughout the episode, and the comedy is balanced well around serious moments.

When the main character was dying, it was as if he was playing a video game, while unconsciously selecting his skills and abilities. The main character is even aware that the world he is in seems like a video game, but he seems very excited about living his new life as a slime towards the end of the episode.

Animation & Sound

The animation was great for a brief scene at the beginning of the episode, but then the animation style slightly changes in the scene of present-day Tokyo. It’s not necessarily bad animation, the animators just made one world plain looking and the world that the main character is reincarnated in stand out more. Since I’m not well versed in cinematography, all I have to say is that the camera angles and shots were not sloppy, and were used appropriately.

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After the episode ended, they showed the opening theme, which you might think is weird to show at the end of the episode, but this is the first episode and they have done this with other anime series before. When we get the second episode, the opening theme should start at the beginning of the episode, and then we’ll get the actual ending theme at the end of the episode–and it should be that way for the next episodes after. The opening theme actually shows us a preview of what’s to come in future episodes of the anime series.

The scene where I explained there was war that started the episode, they use sounds of explosions, burning buildings, and people panicking fairly well. Then when it transitions over to modern Tokyo, they use peaceful sounds and colors before we get to death of the character which included serious sounding music. Once the main character gets reincarnated, there is some comedic sounding music, and there is also music where it sounds like an early 90s video game whenever the main character gets new abilities and figures out how he works as a slime.

Lastly, I have to say that the voice actors did precisely what they had to do and nailed it. There isn’t any loud and obnoxious voice acting, and the voice actors have a chill approach when it comes to bringing the characters to life.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Ep. 1 – Final Thoughts

Based on my first impressions, I have to say this is an interesting series. At first, I thought the main character would remain a weak slime throughout the entirety of the series, but after watching the opening theme I see that the character may become the hero of the story.

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It seems like the main character will progressively get stronger each episode, which is like he’s leveling up and gaining new abilities in a video game, and I think is separates itself from other isekai. In recent isekai series you don’t really see the protagonists getting stronger because they’re already overpowered

such as the anime series Overlord, or the character is very strong and uses strategy to defeat their opponent such as the anime series How Not to Summon a Demon Lord. I like the story,

I think the characters Satoru and Verudora interesting, I like how they balance comedy around serious moments, and animation and sound is good enough for me. I don’t know how the other episodes will turn out, but I like what the first episode presented and the direction it’s taking the series.

I don’t want to jump the gun just yet on whether the anime series That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is good. This is just the first episode, so I need to see a few more episodes to gauge the series worthiness.

Well, that is my review of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime episode 1. I hope I gave an informative review of the series. If you have any questions please let me know in the comment section below or you can send me a message on my contact form.

Citation

ちゃばしら. ほのぼの (First Image at Top of Page). https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=69916916

I’m glad my review was helpful. I was very impressed by the first episode, so I’m excited to continue reviewing episodes released each week. Definitely watch the show and please let your friends know about it.

Though not a big fan of Anime, I was captivated with this awesome review of yours.
I’m an avid KDrama (Korean Drama) fan and I’ve heard a lot about how fun and interesting Japanese animes are. I was already thinking of checking them out, and it seems this is the right time, and this series “That time I got reincarnated as a Slime” with your well detailed might just be my first Anime.